The New Girl
by sarahelizabeth5
Summary: Riverdale High's social hierarchy threatens to fall to pieces when everyone, including a certain self proclaimed food loving woman hater, falls under the spell of the new girl.
1. Chance Meeting

[A/N: I'm going to try and stay as close to how Archie Comics does things in reality, meaning no swearing, drugs, and the like. But I may change my mind later, as I figure out where the plot's going! And I know that many people dislike fan characters immensely, but please don't let that stop you from reading!

[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Archie Comics (sadly), but I _do_ own Hattie :)

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Hattie George yanked a comb through her brassy curls in frustration. Her first day at Riverdale High, and of _course_ her hair was refusing to behave itself. She glanced at the clock on the wall and was shocked to find that she only had ten minutes to make it to the bus stop. Where on earth had the morning gone?

Hattie whirled around in a panic and snatched a bottle of curl tamer from her dresser. She spent the next five precious minutes getting her unruly hair under control. Then she grabbed her backpack from the floor and was off and running.

"Good morning, Hattie! Would you like some toast?"

"Sorry Mom, no time – gotta catch the bus!" Hattie snagged an apple from the fruit bowl and flashed her mother a grin.

Mrs. George just shook her head and sighed. "Well, here then, don't forget your lunch… Hattie! Your lunch!"

But Hattie was already halfway down the front walk, apple in her mouth and curls flying. "Bye Mom!" she called, and then she disappeared from sight.

The bus squealed to a stop, and Betty Cooper unconsciously took a step backwards to let the others get on. She was no hurry to get o school, anyway – not when she'd have to face Archie.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. He'd broken their date last night – _again_. And this morning he'd left before she could bum a ride to school. But, she admitted to herself, should she really be surprised? After all, this definitely hadn't been the first time.

Betty climbed onto the bus and plunked herself down in the first empty seat. Shoving her schoolbag aside, she leaned over to open the window a crack – the bus was always too stuffy.

"Hey, wait!"

Betty peered out the window. A girl was dashing down the sidewalk. The bus started to pull away from the curb. "Wait, there's someone else coming!" Betty called to the bus driver, and the bus's brakes squealed once more.

The girl thanked the bus driver profusely as she clambered up the steps. He just grumbled a gentle warning and waved her off. Betty scooted closer to the window and gestured to the seat beside her. The girl flung herself in the seat just as the bus started moving again.

"Thanks," the girl said, huffing. "I haven't run that much in awhile."

"No problem," Betty smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, are you new in town? I just haven't seen you on the bus before."

"Yeah, I moved here over the weekend. I'm Hattie George, by the way," she stuck out her hand.

Betty reached out and shook her hand. "Betty Cooper, nice to meet you. Where did you move from?"

"Toronto. My parents thought that it would be nice to experience 'small-town living' for a change."

"So you must be in, what, your sophomore or junior year?"

"I'm a senior, actually."

"Really?" Betty looked at Hattie in surprise. "That must be tough, moving partway through senior year."

Hattie shrugged. "Well, I guess, but I've moved around a lot. My dad's in the military, so we've never stayed in one place too long."

"Well, we can't waste any time then! We'll have to get you acquainted with Riverdale as soon as possible," Betty grinned. "Got any plans after school?"

"Not yet," Hattie grinned back.

"You do now!"

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Hattie groaned. The frizzies in her hair had resurrected themselves with a vengeance. She turned on the faucet and tried to reactivate the curl tamer. At least she hadn't realized her hair had gone wild until now, otherwise she would have been worrying all day.

"Hattie, there you are!" Betty stepped into the bathroom. "Come on, a bunch of us are going over to the Chocklit Shop. It's only a few blocks from here, so I thought we'd walk over."

"The Chocklit Shop?" Hattie stared at her new friend.

"Oh, it's a burger place. It's one of the only teen-friendly hangouts in town, so we're pretty much always over there."

"Oh, okay. Just give me two minutes and I'll be right there."

"Midge and I will be by the water fountain."

Hattie turned back to the mirror. She groaned again and gave up. It was useless to try and reason with curls. She picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and opened the bathroom door.

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Jughead Jones was walking along, minding his own business, when the door to the girls' bathroom swung open and hit him in the face. He put a hand to his nose and slid down the wall to the floor. "Ow…"

"Omigoodness! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Jughead looked up. A girl with red-gold curls was peering down at him anxiously. "Are you okay?" she repeated.

"Mmfine," Jughead said from behind his hand. "Jus' fine."

The girl gave a small smile. "I know it might not repair the damage, but can I help you up, at least?" She extended a hand. Jughead grabbed it and she helped him up off the floor. "Here, let me see." She gently pried his hand away from his swollen nose. "Ooh, you need an ice pack. Wait here!" She turned and jogged towards the nurse's office.

Jughead watched her go, then exhaled and leaned against the wall. That girl… something in his head had clicked when she had looked at him. "Jug, get a hold of yourself," he muttered. "She's just a girl. She's just like all the rest of them."

The girl came jogging back, plastic baggy of ice in one hand and paper towel in the other. "Tilt your head forward, and hold this on your nose. The swelling should go down – I don't think it's broken."

"How can you tell?" Jughead asked as he pressed the baggy against his sore nose.

"I took a first aid course during the summer," she said. "I'm… I'm Hattie. Hattie George."

Jughead glanced at her. Her face went pink as she caught his gaze. "Jughead Jones." He smiled when she giggled at his name. "It's a nickname I've had since kindergarten – I hate my real name."

"Oh. Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Jones."

"I am equally charmed by your acquaintance, Miss George," Jughead gave an exaggerated bow and Hattie burst into laughter. He was elated. No one ever laughed at his quirky jokes anymore – they all knew him too well.

"Hattie!" Both of them turned to see Betty and Midge poking their heads around the corner. "Come on!"

"Coming!" Hattie called, and turned back to Jughead. "I've, um, got to go; my friends are waiting for me."

Jughead nodded, barely hearing her. He was struck by how green her eyes were. They complimented her hair perfectly. And she had a spattering of freckles across her nose. Funny, he'd never been close enough to a girl before to see the freckles on her nose. He blinked as he realized she was talking again.

"See you later?" Hattie was asking.

"Yeah, you probably will. Chocklit Shop, right?"

"Apparently. Well, bye, then. It was nice meeting you!"

"Bye," Jughead said, and watched her begin to walk away. She whirled around to face him again when she had taken a few steps.

"Since… well, since we're going to the same place, anyway, why… why don't you just come with us?" asked Hattie.

Jughead was startled by this turn of events. He jerkily shook his head. "No, that's okay. I – I have to do some things first, anyway. I'll be there later on."

"Oh, okay. Bye." Hattie's face was pink again, and Jughead felt oddly pleased by this as he watched her leave with Betty and Midge. He caught himself trying to pull his gaze off of her, but he shooed the thought away. He strangely wanted to watch her, even if she was just walking. And the strangest thing of all was that he couldn't seem to catch his breath.

Jughead wrinkled his forehead as he reached up and readjusted his beanie cap. Whatever. He was probably just hungry.

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[So, what do you guys think?? Read and review, please, and if you do, I'll give you a cookie!!


	2. Revelations

[A/N: Thank you so much to Shiva the Sarcastic and darKitty for reviewing! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. This chapter's for you!

[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Archie Comics (sadly), but I _do_ own Hattie.

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"Jughead… earth to Jughead…"

"Huh?" Jughead blinked as his best friend waved his hand in front of his face.

"Man, you're out of it today," Archie chuckled and settled back down in the booth. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Jughead swished his soda straw around his glass while staring at the plastic tablecloth.

"Yeah, right," Archie stuck a fry in his mouth. "It's never 'nothing'. You always have something to say."

"It's nothing, Arch."

"Okay, okay. It's nothing. Hey, did you meet the new girl yet? Harriet James or something like that."

"Hattie George."

"Yeah, that's her. So you did meet her! She's something else, eh?"

"Mmhm."

"Funny. Smart. Really cute. And great legs…"

Jughead shoved his glass aside and stood up quickly. "I'll be back, I've got to... to use the little boy's room." Then he strode across the room and disappeared inside the men's room, leaving a gaping Archie Andrews staring at his retreating back.

Safe on the other side of the door, Jughead leaned against the sink and let out a shuddering breath. What was _wrong_ with him? Archie always talked about girls that way. So why was it bothering him so much?

"Hattie's just a girl," his whisper echoed in the empty bathroom. But thinking of the way her nose wrinkled when she laughed, how her curly hair tumbled softly around her shoulders, those green eyes… he realized that she wasn't 'just a girl'. He was attracted to her.

Jughead looked into the mirror and frowned. But what did it matter? He'd always been the goofy sidekick, the good friend but never the 'more than'. He sighed. _That_ was always Archie.

He turned the doorknob and walked back out into the Chocklit Shop. So why even worry about it? Archie would get Hattie, and if not Archie, somebody else. Jughead Jones, dating a girl…willingly? No one would take him seriously.

The bell above the front door tinkled as it opened, and Jughead glanced towards it. He did a double take as he realized that Betty, Midge, and Hattie were walking through the door. Jughead froze.

Hattie caught his eye and smiled. "I guess you beat us here, after all," she said as she walked by. She paused mid-step as Jughead opened his mouth to reply.

"Yeah, looks like it." Brilliant, Jug, just brilliant.

"We took the long way, I'm told. It's just such a gorgeous day outside!"

Jughead nodded. Hattie looked at Betty and Midge, who were beckoning her over to their table. "Well, I guess I'd better go sit down. See you."

"Okay," Jughead berated himself inwardly for not having made better conversation. This girl did strange things to the connection between his brain and his vocal cords.

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Hattie slid into the booth next to Midge. "So, what's good here?" she asked.

"Everything's really good, but we usually just get burgers and fries," Betty said. "Want us to order for you?"

"Sure," Hattie discreetly peeked over at Jughead, who had sat down across from a red-haired boy at a booth across the room. As Betty ordered three burgers and three milkshakes, Hattie replayed their meeting in the hallway from earlier this afternoon in her head. She smiled. Poor guy. Not the nicest way to meet someone.

Their burgers arrived quickly, and the three girls dug in hungrily. As the food disappeared, Hattie decided to dig up some information.

"Hey, um, do either of you know that guy over there?" Both Midge and Betty turned to look where Hattie had indicated.

"Archie?" Midge asked. "Betty can tell you all about him, can't you, hun?" Betty had a look of distaste on her face and started to speak, but Hattie quickly interrupted.

"No, not the red-haired guy. The other one. Jughead."

Midge and Betty looked at each other, then stared at Hattie. "You… you want to know about… Jughead?" Betty asked slowly.

"Yeah. Is he… seeing anyone?"

The two girls burst out laughing, then laughed even harder at Hattie bewildered expression. "What?" she asked.

"N-nothing!" Midge sputtered and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's j-just…"

"Jughead doesn't _date_," Betty said. "He, well, just _doesn't_."

"He likes food more than he likes girls," Midge added.

"He's the one guy that our boyfriends don't mind us hanging around with alone, because they know that he'd never try anything, anyway."

Hattie didn't know what to say. Betty grinned and patted her shoulder. "Never mind. You just didn't know about Riverdale's token he-man woman-hater." That set Midge into hysterics, and Betty joined her. As her two friends continued to giggle, Hattie gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"Oh well," she said. "Plenty of other fish in the sea, right?"

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"But I don't want any other fish!" Hattie said aloud to herself in her room that night. "I want _that_fish." She flopped down on her bed and smiled dreamily as she remembered Jughead's brown eyes locked onto hers. At best guess, he was probably around six foot two or three, which meant that Jughead towered over her tiny five-six frame. "Perfect," she sighed.

She sat up again and snorted. Hattie, come on. You heard Betty and Midge. He can't be the one for you.

But as she started to get ready for bed, Hattie couldn't shake off the feeling that maybe they were wrong about him. Maybe. "Hopefully."

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"…and the animals of the Amazon rainforest will be the topic of your next assignment," Miss Grundy scooped up a stack of outlines and started passing them out. "You will have to write a fifteen-hundred word report -" The glass groaned collectively. "- on the animal of your choice. And yes, Mr. Andrews," she said without turning to look at Archie. "The animal _does_ indeed have to be an inhabitant of the rainforest."

The students sitting around Archie snickered, including Archie himself. Jughead, however, was distracted by the fact that Hattie's curly hair was piled on top of her head today. She looked like a Grecian goddess; all that was missing was the robe. And possibly a spear.

"Now, I will be separating you into pairs for the research portion of this assignment. This is an experiment, but I believe that sharing the research will help you better understand your topic, as you will have someone to discuss the topic with," Miss Grundy flipped open her plan book and began listing off the pairs. "Midge Klump and Moose Mason."

"Figures," Archie muttered to Jughead. Jughead smiled lightly as Miss Grundy continued.

"Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper. Jughead Jones and Hattie George. Veronica Lodge and Reggie Mantle."

_What?!_ Jughead's eyes shot open as he realized that he hadn't been imagining things. He looked towards Hattie, who was busy scribbling on a sheet of paper. As he watched, she quietly tore the page out of her notebook and folded it in half. Then she dropped it on the floor and ever so slowly slid it towards him with her foot.

When Miss Grundy wasn't looking, Jughead leaned down and snatched the paper up. His heart was racing as he unfolded it, and when he did, he was greeted by the sight of a grinning smiley face. _Yay! _was the only word on the page.

Jughead's mind raced as he felt a grin spreading across his face. He looked up at Hattie again, and when he did she flashed him a smile and a thumbs up. Jughead picked up his pen and tore a piece of paper from his notebook. Then he took a deep breath and wrote, _My house after school?_

He folded the paper into a tiny square and flicked it so that that it landed right on Hattie's desk. She jumped a little when the paper landed, and sent a smirk over her shoulder. Unfolding the paper, she turned her head and nodded.

Jughead sighed and leaned back in his chair. This was turning out to be a wonderful day.

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Veronica Lodge was fuming. How dare she mess everything up? How _dare _she? It had been perfect: Veronica had always been paired with Archie, no matter what the assignment, leaving Betty paired with Jughead and Reggie leftover. But with Hattie entering the mix, the pairs had been completely rearranged.

Veronica frowned and rubbed her temples with perfectly manicured fingertips. This would never do. Not if she planned on keeping Betty away from Archie, anyway. That Hattie girl needed to learn her place around Riverdale High. Or else, who knew what else might happen?

I did not spend the last three years of high school carefully constructing the perfect school hierarchy to have some curly-haired bimbo tear it down, Veronica thought angrily.

She glanced towards the bimbo in question and was startled to see her grinning. Veronica followed her eyes to…Jughead? Jughead Jones?

Veronica sneered. Well, _that_ was interesting. The bell rang and Veronica stood and began slipping her notebooks and pens into her Prada bag. She watched as Jughead and Hattie left the classroom together, and then smiled to herself.

I can work with this, she thought.

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[Uh-oh! What's that scheming Veronica planning?? Read and review please!


	3. Bryce Avery

[A/N: Sorry about the long wait guys! My life outside of Internet-land got ridiculously, crazy busy, so I had to put off writing anything new until now… hope you like it, and please keep reviewing! It makes this so much more fun knowing that someone out there is enjoying my story :)

[Disclaimer: I do not own Archie Comics or any of the characters. I only own Hattie

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Jughead glanced over at Hattie as they walked side by side along the sidewalk towards his house. She had a dreamy half-smile on her face, and her eyes were closed. He leaned over next to her ear and said, "Bonjour, mademoiselle."

Hattie's eyes flew open and she flushed violently. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she stammered. "You must think I'm awfully rude."

"No, no," Jughead shook his head reassuringly. "I just wanted to be a fly on the wall in your mind."

"Huh?"

"Well, it looked pretty great, whatever you were thinking about. I felt left out."

"Oh," Hattie looked at the ground and laughed. "Did it look that great?"

"You looked… enraptured, I guess. By your thought," Jughead glanced at her again. "What _were_ you thinking about? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

"Not at all," Hattie let her fingers trail along the picket fence they were passing. "I was just thinking about how quiet it is here."

"Missing the excitement of downtown Toronto? I knew it. We're too dull for you."

"No!" Hattie laughed and shoved his arm with hers. "I _love_ the quiet. Toronto was always so busy, so loud. Sirens, everywhere. Horns honking. Rush hour was _every _hour. But here," she pulled a leaf off an overhead tree branch. "Here, the busiest thing around is this leaf."

Jughead watched her twirl the leaf around in her fingers. Hattie kept surprising him – she was unlike any other girl he had ever met. "I guess I never thought about it that way," he said. "I think I always assumed life in Riverdale would be too monotonous for a city slicker."

Hattie raised an eyebrow at him. "A city slicker," she said, "I am not. Never have been. My first love was Seabright. The first place I can remember living," she added when Jughead's eyes popped open.

"Oh," he said. "Of course." What the _heck_, he thought to himself. Keep it together, buddy. "What was it like?"

"Maybe an eighth the size of Riverdale – this little tiny town on the edge of Nova Scotia. Three stores. Two churches. One school from kindergarten to twelfth grade."

"Wow."

"I know. And you thought you had it bad."

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"Hey Mom," Jughead said as he entered the kitchen.

"Hello dear, how was your…" Mrs. Jones' voice trailed off as she saw Hattie standing in the doorway.

Jughead coughed. "Mom, this is Hattie. Hattie, Mom."

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Jones," Hattie said with a smile.

"…Very nice to meet you too, Hattie," Mrs. Jones shook hands and glanced eagerly at her son. "May I ask…?"

"Mom, Hattie and I have a project to work on, so we'll be upstairs, alright?" Jughead began guiding Hattie towards the staircase before his mother could ask any questions.

Mrs. Jones was still staring in shock at the stairs when Mr. Jones walked by a few minutes later. "Dear?"

"Darling, our son… Our son brought home a _girl_."

"A _what_?"

"My sentiments exactly," she turned around and began emptying the dishwasher. Mr. Jones shook his head in amazement.

"Well I'll be," he said. "Well I'll be."

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"So, this is it," Jughead stepped back to let Hattie into his room. It wasn't much to look at, really: a bed, dresser, desk, computer. But at least it was clean – he thanked his mother silently for her insistence over the weekend that the chore be finished.

As Hattie looked around, quietly appraising his bedroom, Jughead felt a little nervous. He'd never brought anyone up here but Archie, and _he_ could care less about what it looked like, messy or not. Maybe this sort of thing mattered to girls. Maybe he'd blown it already. Maybe –

"It's exactly like you," Hattie spun around and smiled at him.

"How do you mean?" Jughead let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"It's straight to the point. No fuss. And amazingly, no muss. _That_ I can't believe – all boys have messy rooms." Hattie's eyebrow was raised again.

Jughead chuckled. "Alright, you caught me. Mom made me clean it on Saturday. But you're right about the fuss – _that_ is contained elsewhere."

"Really? Where?"

"In my closet. Come on," Jughead strode across the room and turned the doorknob. Hattie peeped around the door and gasped.

"You have _stairs_ in your _closet_."

"What? No! That is quite the accusation, young lady. What I have in my closet," Jughead smirked as Hattie stuck out her tongue, "is a secret passageway."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" He jumped as Hattie tucked her arm through his. "Lead the way!"

Jughead fumbled for the light switch as he attempted to maintain his composure. "Onward," he said in a deep voice, and the two started down the stairs.

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"Welcome to my lounge."

"Wow," Hattie whispered. They were in Jughead's basement, but it was unlike any basement she had ever seen. The walls were painted a bright blue, and band posters and memorabilia were plastered all over the place. A beat-up stereo and stacks of CDs sat against one wall. Rag rugs covered every inch of the cement floor and in one corner was an overstuffed sofa. In the other corner was a white drum kit.

Hattie walked towards the kit and gently ran a finger over the high hat. "You play?"

"That I do. That's my baby," Jughead beamed. Hattie loved seeing him smile – his whole face lit up. Drumming must make him really happy, she thought. She caught herself staring at him and quickly changed the subject.

"You're a music junkie, I see," she said, gesturing towards the towering stacks of CDs.

"Completely addicted. Everything from The Beatles to the Rocket Summer is contained in that collection."

"The…Rocket Summer?"

"What! You've never heard of the Rocket Summer?" Jughead looked aghast. "Bryce Avery, one man-band?"

Hattie turned her palms up and shrugged. "I'm afraid my musical knowledge is a bit… lacking."

"Well, we must fix that immediately," Jughead pushed her towards the sofa. "Please, sit, sit. Bryce Avery," he said as he slid a CD out from the bottom of one stack, "is a genius. He plays all the instruments in his recordings, arranges all the music, does his own harmonies… it's amazing," he finished as he fed the disk into the stereo.

Hattie sank into the sofa cushions and tucked her feet under her as the music started to play. It was joyous-sounding – the singer sounded so happy. Hattie closed her eyes and just listened. For three minutes, the only sound was Bryce Avery's voice.

As the song ended, Hattie's eyes fluttered open. She looked over at Jughead and saw he was staring at her. Her heart caught in her throat as she fought to speak. "I love it," she said softly. "You're right. It's amazing." Oh dear, she thought, panicked as Jughead blinked. That came out too…well, it came out wrong. I probably scared him off.

Dang it.

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Jughead's heart was beating so fast he thought for sure Hattie could hear it. "I'm…I'm glad you liked it," he stood up quickly and turned the stereo off.

"Jughead…" he heard her say. Slowly he turned around and looked down at her. He almost laughed as he noticed how the sofa was almost engulfing her. She was so tiny, so delicate. So beautiful, he breathed silently. Wait, what?

"Maybe…maybe we should work on our assignment now."

"Assignment? Oh, okay. Right," Jughead took a step backwards to let Hattie stand up, but he underestimated the amount of space she needed and suddenly she was standing right in front of him, looking at him with those deep green eyes and… yes, there were those freckles again.

"Um, hi," Hattie's face pinked.

"Hi yourself," Jughead's voice was husky. Jug! Husky voice equals _bad_. Slow down! Whoa there! He coughed and inched backwards until his heels hit the stereo.

"Uh, the Amazon. Animals. Rainforest…?" he stammered.

"Oh, yeah, right," Hattie turned away and quickly walked towards the stairs.

Jughead wasn't sure if he was more disappointed or relieved.


	4. Set Into Motion

[A/N: Wow. I started this chapter right after I finished the last one – I fell in love with the whole plot line again, it's grand :D This chapter is reeeally long, I find, but I just had to fit everything in. Anyway, thank you all for the lovely, lovely reviews on chapter 3… hopefully you'll find this chapter just as good!

[Disclaimer: I own no part of Archie comics whatsoever. Nada. Zip. Hattie, however, is my own creation.

A sunbeam inched its way across the carpet towards a sleeping Veronica Lodge. It softly traced a path up the bed skirt, traveling across mountains of pillows until it lightly skimmed her fingertips. Then up her arm, her chin, her nose…

"Auggghhh!" Veronica shrieked and pulled the down comforter over her head. "Fifi! The curtains!" she hollered. "_Fifi_!"

"Coming, Miss Veronica." The gentle voice of her maid simply annoyed her further. Veronica listened to the soft footsteps approaching the bed. "Yes, Miss Veronica?"

"Fifi. The curtains."

"What about them, Miss Veronica?"

"_They're open_."

"Yes, it's such a beautiful fall morning that I thought –"

Veronica gave an exaggerated, muffled sigh. "Fifi. You know I need exactly eight hours of sleep every night. And with that horrid brightness shining in, my sleep schedule has been interrupted. Understand?"

"Yes, Miss Veronica."

"Thank you, Fifi. Now close the curtains."

Veronica heard the maid walk to the window, then the swish of the curtains, and then the retreating footsteps to the hallway. Only then did she huffily yank the comforter away from her face and gulp fresh air.

"Honestly," she muttered. Fifi knew better. As she lay there, she felt a niggling thought on the edge of her mind. She had something important to do today… what was it? Something to do with… the new girl?

Veronica sat up and snapped her fingers. Yes, that was it. Today was the day she was going to begin ruining the new girl's life. She leaned back into her pillows and giggled with glee.

This was going to be _so_ much fun.

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As the sleek black limousine pulled up to Riverdale High a few hours later, Veronica carefully checked her makeup one last time. She gave a pout in the mirror and was pleased. Running her fingers through her hair, she looped her Marc Jacobs bag over her shoulder and picked up her attaché case.

No Lodge would be caught dead carrying a _knapsack_.

She exited the limo leggily, grabbing the attention of every teenage boy within in the vicinity. But she paid them no heed. Slinking through the drooling throng with all the poise of a model on the catwalk, she allowed one of them to open the door for her, and then Veronica Lodge slipped inside the school, ready to start her day.

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Hattie closed her locker door. Leaning against it, she let out a slow breath. She couldn't get yesterday out of her mind.

After she had dashed upstairs, she had stood staring out Jughead's bedroom window, her face cheeks burning and her palms clammy. Hattie heard Jughead's heavy footfalls on the stairs a few moments later, and she attempted to get her breathing under control.

Hattie, chill _out_, she scolded herself. Nothing happened. It was nothing. But when she turned around to look at Jughead, she realized it had been _everything_. She had fallen, and she had fallen hard.

Looking at Jughead, she tried to decipher his expression. It looked like a mixture of embarrassment, surprise, and…and…

And then she had fumbled for her bag and muttered something about having to be home for dinner. "It's chicken," she explained lamely. Hattie didn't wait around for Jughead to say anything; she simply darted from the room, down the steps and out the front door.

And now, here she was, unable to function, leaning against her locker door between second and third period. Hattie sighed and began pulling her curls into a haphazard ponytail.

"Hattie!" a voice rang out.

Hattie dropped her handful of curls and froze. But she was safe. It wasn't Jughead. The voice belonged to a girl with long raven-black hair who was waving at her from the end of the hallway. When Hattie didn't move, the girl started towards her.

"Hattie! There you are," the girl said as she reached Hattie. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"You, er, have?"

Seeing Hattie's bewildered expression, the girl gave a tinkling laugh. "Oh, heavens, you have no idea who I am, do you? I'm Veronica Lodge; I'm in your Global Biology class."

Hattie vaguely recalled seeing her sitting behind Jughead's friend Archie the other day. "I remember you, but…"

"Well, I guess I feel like I know you already," said Veronica, looping an arm through Hattie's. "I mean, Reggie Mantle just will not shut _up_ about you."

"Reggie…who?"

"Reggie, darling. Heavens!" Veronica laughed again. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Reggie's in the same class. We're old friends, and we talk about simply _everything_. And when he saw you the other day he was just completely _smitten_ with you."

"Oh. Well, I'm flattered, I guess."

"You _guess_? Reggie's just simply the _best_. Any girl would be lucky to go out with him," Veronica's voice lowered, "But he wants to ask _you_ out."

Hattie smiled a little at that. It was nice to be appreciated, and even nicer to be appreciated by a boy. Of course, her love life was a little tied up at the moment. She opened her mouth to explain but Veronica spoke again.

"I know you don't know who he is, darling," Veronica patted her arm. "I'll point him out to you in class after lunch. Make your decision _then_. Oops, I'm late for French class. Toodles, darling!" And with that, Veronica rushed off down the hall.

Hattie blinked as she watched Veronica leave. Well. _That_ had been weird. She shook her head dazedly and gave a little laugh, turning to head towards Study Hall. But as she let her gaze trail nonchalantly along the hallway, she locked eyes with none other than Jughead Jones.

"Hattie!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jughead had watched Hattie jog down the front walk and then down the sidewalk from his bedroom window. As she disappeared from sight around the corner, he sighed and sat on the edge of his bed.

"I blew it," he muttered. "I freaked her out. Man. How could I have been so _stupid_?" He pounded his fist on the mattress for emphasis, and then let himself fall backwards. Only then did the thought occur to him.

When he had come up the stairs behind her, Hattie had looked like a deer in headlights. But she had also had an expression of… something. Jughead had seen it on girls before, directed at Archie more often than not – never Jug. He had no idea what it was, but he knew it when he saw it.

Could it be…? Could it be possible that maybe she felt something, too? She _had_ been freaked out, but maybe it was for the same reason Jughead was.

Taking a deep breath, Jughead rolled over onto his stomach. If that wasn't the case, then he would just leave her be – no reason to mess with her head any further. But… what if it _was_ the case?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the next morning, Jughead had made up his mind to talk to Hattie. He didn't want things to be weird between them, in any case. Maybe if he could fix this, then maybe they could move on. And maybe…

Jughead reached up and adjusted his beanie as he ambled along the school corridor with Archie, half-listening to his buddy ramble on about the goings-on in the world of the opposite sex. Betty. Veronica. Hattie.

"Wait, what?" Jughead jerked his head around to stare at his friend.

"I said that the word is out that Reggie's on the prowl again. He saw her yesterday, and now he wants her. Man," said Archie, "What's with you today?"

"N…nothing," Jughead shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking.

"Riiight," Archie said sarcastically, but – Jughead thanked his lucky stars – he didn't press the matter further and continued talking. But the wheels were turning in Jughead's brain. Reggie Mantle was nothing but trouble. What did he want with Hattie? This was bad, very bad.

Jughead glanced up and saw Hattie coming towards him. He caught her eye and watched as her mouth opened in a small 'o'. He spoke before she had a chance to duck into the crush of students.

"Hattie!" he said, striding away from a puzzled Archie.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hattie watched helplessly as Jughead walked towards her, and felt her knees go weak as she realized his gaze was locked onto hers. Then he was right there in front of her. "Hi Jughead," she said quietly.

"Hey," Jughead rubbed his neck with one hand. "Uh, Hattie, about yesterday…"

Oh no. This is bad. He never wants to see me again. He hates me. He –

"I don't want things to be, you know, weird between us. I mean, I still want to hang out with you and everything, but if you don't want to…" Hattie blinked as she digested Jughead's words. Was he saying… He doesn't hate me…. He doesn't hate me! Yes. Yes! _Yes!_

"Hattie…?" Jughead's hesitant voice snapped her back to reality.

"Oh, sorry. I mean, it's cool. I mean, I still want to hang out with you, too, if you want to." Could you _be_ any more articulate, George?

But Jughead's face lit up. "Great! I mean, great," he said. "That's great. Well," Jughead pushed his hat back from his forehead. "Did you want to try working on that assignment again?"

Hattie blinked.

"In the library this time?" Jughead said hurriedly. "Fifth period?"

With a smile Hattie nodded. "Sure. That'd be…great," she said, and laughed.

"Well, see you later then," with a little wave Jughead sauntered off down the hall, disappearing into the crowded corridor.

Hattie felt like dancing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't thank you enough, Reggie darling, for helping me out," Veronica snapped her compact shut and looked at him.

Reggie Mantle gave a devilish grin and shrugged. "You know me, Ronniekins. Always ready to do a little mischief," he said. "And besides," he added, "That Hattie chick is a _babe_. Why let old Needlenose have all the fun?"

"Uh-huh, sure, whatever," Veronica fluffed her hair. "Just don't let me down, Reggie. I'd hate to see you go dateless for the winter formal."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about me, doll," Reggie patted her arm and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Reggie will take care of everything."

"Good," Veronica simpered. "Of course, I would expect nothing less." Inside, she was fairly bursting with delight: her plan was finally set into motion.


End file.
